How to get AMEX?

[Credit-hoarder]

A paid collection might not change your score but it does look more favorable to lenders esp. during a manual review-and IMO it offers a little more peace of mind also. I can't get in with AMEX either mostly b/c of past (all paid) derogs, but have been able to score some other good accounts.

[cjc343]

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@Credit-hoarder wrote:

A paid collection might not change your score but it does look more favorable to lenders esp. during a manual review.

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An unpaid collection that's 6 years old will fall off in one year, paying that collection now will reset the clock and it's on your reports for 7 more years.

In the long run, paying this collection is a bad idea because it means that:

1. It will have a negative impact for 6 years more than not paying.

2. It will change it from an old negative unpaid to a new negative paid. As a new negative, it will have a higher weight than it does currently.

Sure it'd look better to have it paid than unpaid, but when you're 6 years in already, you're better off waiting one more year and having it fall off before applying for credit than spending the next 7 years explaining to EOs that your paid collection isn't as bad as it looks.

E: per comments below, I've got some things mixed up and a payment should not reset the clock for when it will fall off your report.

[RyVision]

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@cjc343 wrote:

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@Credit-hoarder wrote:

A paid collection might not change your score but it does look more favorable to lenders esp. during a manual review.

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An unpaid collection that's 6 years old will fall off in one year, paying that collection now will reset the clock and it's on your reports for 7 more years.

In the long run, paying this collection is a bad idea because it means that:

1. It will have a negative impact for 6 years more than not paying.

2. It will change it from an old negative unpaid to a new negative paid. As a new negative, it will have a higher weight than it does currently.

Sure it'd look better to have it paid than unpaid, but when you're 6 years in already, you're better off waiting one more year and having it fall off before applying for credit than spending the next 7 years explaining to EOs that your paid collection isn't as bad as it looks.

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+1

I have to agree with that.  Unless the creditor (collection agency, or whoever) would be willing to do a PFD (Pay For Delete) in writing, I'd advise to let it expire unpaid.  Is it totally ethical? Well, not really...  Are they.. no not really lol.   Has the original creditor already written it off on taxes? Yes.    So in a sense, we've all paid on it and my 2\100000 cents says let it expire unpaid since it's been this long already. 

[fixingitohio]

The date of first delinquency from which you never recovered is the date that governs when it falls off your credit report.  "Resetting the clock" by paying an old open collection is not correct.

[gstq34]

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@fixingitohio wrote:

The date of first delinquency from which you never recovered is the date that governs when it falls off your credit report.  "Resetting the clock" by paying an old open collection is not correct.

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It DOES reset the date of last activity - and that could impact the credit score until it deletes based in on the date of 1st del.

[Uppingmyscore]

Agree it will reset the date, but it doesn't look good having an unpaid debt on your report while seeking new debt. I'll recommend waiting until the debt (charge office/collection) is removed from your report.

[fixingitohio]

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@gstq34 wrote:

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@fixingitohio wrote:

The date of first delinquency from which you never recovered is the date that governs when it falls off your credit report.  "Resetting the clock" by paying an old open collection is not correct.

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It DOES reset the date of last activity - and that could impact the credit score until it deletes based in on the date of 1st del.

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True.  The clock I was referring to resetting was the CRTP clock.  No matter when you pay it, it can only REPORT out to 7 years + 180 days from DOFD, which is governed by the OC, not by the CA if one is involved, on the version that most people and creditors see.

However, letting it "expire" from the "normal" reports we see doesn't extinguish the debt.  If you're going for a mortgage or a high paying job, they MAY order a full file copy of your credit report which has everything on it, in which case they would see it.  Unpaid debt never goes away, it just becomes a little more difficult to find.

For the OP, there is a LOT of info on this over in the Rebuilding forum.

[DaBears]

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@cjc343 wrote:

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@Credit-hoarder wrote:

A paid collection might not change your score but it does look more favorable to lenders esp. during a manual review.

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An unpaid collection that's 6 years old will fall off in one year, paying that collection now will reset the clock and it's on your reports for 7 more years.

In the long run, paying this collection is a bad idea because it means that:

1. It will have a negative impact for 6 years more than not paying.

2. It will change it from an old negative unpaid to a new negative paid. As a new negative, it will have a higher weight than it does currently.

Sure it'd look better to have it paid than unpaid, but when you're 6 years in already, you're better off waiting one more year and having it fall off before applying for credit than spending the next 7 years explaining to EOs that your paid collection isn't as bad as it looks.

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That would be incorrect. Nothing can restart the DoFD. Paying a collection will not reset the CRTP. If the collection is factored into your util % then you could get some sort of increase in score.